


What the...Speed Force?

by AnonymousObsesser



Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe, And Len is there!, Angst with a Happy Ending, Basically Barry was in the Speed Force for a while...also there were other things, Fluff and Angst, Gen, M/M, bc he's time's fave, fluffy mostly with a side of angst, like eighty percent of this is implied, like lisa has a baby for barry and len, like there's no specific future events, listen there is nothing explicit about this, nora and michael are great siblings, so i mean yeah, there's nothing sexual like they don't even kiss, they're just really cute, this is kinda eh, this isn't that great I'm really sorry if you hate it, you knew the pun at the end was coming don't lie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-31
Updated: 2018-07-31
Packaged: 2019-06-19 04:59:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,408
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15502836
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnonymousObsesser/pseuds/AnonymousObsesser
Summary: If he was being honest, Leonard Snart would have given his chances of ending up in Hell after sacrificing his life for the timeline at around a 90%.Sure, he'd done some...unsavory things, but saving the world had to count for something, right?He hadn't exactly factored a new type of prison into that equation, but, hey...





	What the...Speed Force?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Hadespuppy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hadespuppy/gifts).



> Hi! So, here you go! I really hope you like this!
> 
> I know it's not exactly right, but um I hope you enjoy reading it?
> 
> Happy GiftExchange!

If he was being honest, Leonard Snart would have given his chances of ending up in Hell after sacrificing his life for the timeline at around a 90%. 

Sure, he'd done some...unsavory things, but saving the world had to count for something, right? And he'd done some good things with the team, and even before that, with the Flash and his team. 

So, yeah. 90%. 

That only factored in two scenarios, though—Heaven or Hell? 

Interdimensional Prison wasn't even an _option_. And yet here he was. 

"Got it?" the Speed Force demanded in his sister's voice. She—it—crossed their arms and raised a brow at him. 

 _Not even close_ , he thought. "Of course," he drawled instead. "So what am I doing here?" 

It threw their hands in the air. "Hell if we know!" it snarled. "None of _your_ kind is allowed in here." 

"My kind...Right." 

They rolled their eyes, then pressed a hand over their forehead. "Idiot," they muttered. "Yes, your kind. Time travelers, TB agents, time masters—you're all the same. You think you know something about Aberrations, Distortions, because you fly around in that big bulky ship and fuck the timeline every day you can?" 

Their expression was a familiar one on his sister's face; with the gnashed teeth, wrinkled nose, and harsh glare, it was everything from exasperation to irritation rolled into one. 

"You're crude. Inelegant. A dishonor. I don't know what Time sees in you, and I wish they would have kept you over there instead of dropping you on my doorstep without warning." 

Len crossed his arms. "Listen, sweetheart, I don't know anything about that. Truthfully, I don't care how or why I landed here. How do I get _out_?" 

The Speed Force snorted. "Didn't you hear? This is prison. You can't get out. You're stuck here." 

He scoffed. "No prison is impossible to break out of." 

"This one is." They sighed. "Alright, listen. Technically, you can leave whenever you want. You're not incorporeal—you still have a body. We only require one person to be here at a time; someone else already is. I wouldn't try it if I were you, though. Not right now, at least." 

"And why is that?" 

"Because there's someone at the door." His sister's nose scrunched in irritation. "He's not the greatest person in the universe. While we understand why, we don't particularly like him." 

"So why does _he_ get to stay here?" Len drawled. 

"Have you ever seen a warden who _did_ like their prisoners?" They shook their head. "Besides, just because we don't like him doesn't mean he isn't ours. He's a speedster. He has to stay here." 

"The way I see it, you've got another time traveling criminal in here somewhere." He shrugged. "What's so special about him that he can stay here? Why not just take his powers? I'm sure you have the ability to do so." 

"We do," they grit. "We only allow him because of...special circumstances." 

They looked away quickly, as if the plain steel walls of the room around them were suddenly extremely interesting. Their jaw twitched restlessly. 

Len smirked. "They used to be your favorite," he drawled in a tease. "Isn't that sweet." 

"You should watch your tone," they warned. "Without us, a primitive like you has no hope of finding the door. You'll be lost in here forever." 

"Right. Sorry, Your Highness," he snarked. "And when, exactly, are you going to show me the door?" 

"When the prisoner is released." 

"And when will that be?" 

"Hard to say," they mused. "Time is different here. Could be months or years, or it could be five minutes from now. Real world time, two months. Here? Who knows." 

As if on cue, the ground beneath their feet seemed to rumble, and a strange gust of wind blew through the room. 

"Quiznak," the Speed Force muttered. "That idiot boy." 

"What the hell was that?" Len demanded. 

They sighed, exasperated. "The doorbell." 

* * *

Len didn't bother listening to the backstory—couldn't really care less—but it didn't really matter, anyway. The kid (Wally, if he remembered right) was only there for...seconds? Days? 

The fight between the Speed Force and Barry Allen, however, seemed to last forever. 

"It's temporal displacement," the Speed Force muttered to him at one point. 

It was still odd, seeing his sister's face without her normal expressions. It was also odd to have her by his side, clutching at his arm to keep him still while they watched what appeared to be Len himself fighting the Flash. 

"You're more affected by it that the others. Only speedsters can see the timeline as it is." 

A beat later, and Barry and Wally gone—an older man was there instead. He seemed nonsensical, pacing the halls or staring into space, clearly not seeing the same thin Len was. 

Five minutes, and the ground shook with another quake. 

Barry was back, looking dazed but well-dressed, with a redheaded replica of the Speed Force on his arm. 

"What do you want to do first, Barry?" She—it—asked gently. "We could watch some musicals, like you used to as a kid. Or maybe a walk in the park with Iris would be nicer? Or STAR Labs, we could—" 

"I think I want to go home," Barry said suddenly. "I want to be alone." 

That was about the point that Len noticed not-Lisa was gone. 

"Scarlet?" Len called. "Why are _you_ slumming it in jail?" 

Barry's head snapped in his direction, and his eyes went wide as he took a step back. "You—You're not real. You're just the Speed Force. Again." 

"No, I'm not," Len said firmly. 

"Indeed he is not," the Speed Force mused. "But it doesn't matter. He can leave. You cannot." 

Len's gaze flicked to the door just behind the other two. Without thinking about it, he started in that direction. 

His hand barely touched it before he was somewhere else entirely. 

* * *

“Why am I not surprised to see you here?” a voice mused. 

Len blinked, trying to focus his sight once more, but everything was churning so much that trying to focus on anything was nauseating. 

“What?” 

His voice sounded groggy. Why was he so dizzy? 

The voice sighed with deep emotion—disappointment, irritation, amusement, maybe all three—before saying, “I'm sending you back. You need more time.” 

A new voice—though one he somehow remembered?—chimed in, “Oh, no, you don't! My house isn’t some storage bin you can just toss your junk in until you need it!” 

“Of course not,” the first voice said. It paused, and when it spoke again, Len could practically hear a smirk in their tone. “It's more like a cellar. Somewhere to keep things until they mature.” 

An irritated huff sounded throughout the…room Len was in, and suddenly he was shoved throughout something. A curtain or maybe a really thin wall, he didn't really care, but then he was stumbling through the other side and— 

"Daddy, Daddy!" 

A giggling toddler burst through the glass door right in front of him, running straight toward...no, _through him_. He turned around just in time to see the little girl get swept up in the arms of— 

"Scarlet?" Len muttered, stunned. 

The man looked over, seeming equally startled. "Len?" He looked at the child in his arms, seeming to debate. "What are you doing here?" 

"Daddy," the girl said impatiently, "what you doin'?" 

Barry blinked, confused. Then it dawned on him—on both of them. "Why can't Nora see you?" 

Len opened his mouth, but barely got out a, "Barry, I don't—" before he felt a strange grip on the back of his jacket and was being dragged backward. 

"You can't just shove him wherever!" The first voice from before shouted angrily. "That's not how it works!" 

"Like you know anything!" The second snapped. 

"Here, watch—" 

And Len was in a new room, grunting as he stumbled on his feet. 

At least this scene was familiar. 

"—article on the disappearing middle class," his past self drawled in front of him. "Strong point of view. Nice prose style." 

"Yeah, well—" 

Another yank. 

"What is this, beat on Iris day?" 

"Hey, you're the one that took her fiancé away—" 

"You know that's not—" 

"Can you just let me _out_ of this hellhole?" Len demanded. He pressed a hand over his eyes, trying to stave off the vertigo. "I'd rather go back to the Speed Force, at this rate. Or back to Earth." 

A pause. 

Then— 

"Sure." It was smug. 

It came from the second voice. 

Of course it did—this was much worse. 

* * *

If you're alive—well, okay. If you're _sentient_ , you've probably never had your brain matter chopped into tiny pieces and scattered across time and space for the breadth of about thirty seconds before being smushed back together without warning. 

It happened so fast and so painfully that Len immediately blocked it out. For the most part. 

* * *

He reappeared back where he started, standing in a random hospital hallway in front of none other than Barry Allen. 

But Barry was far from the same person he'd left just moments ago. 

He'd changed out of his suit at some point, now dressed in a plain red t-shirt and jeans and socks with no shoes. His face seemed thinner, almost gaunt under the slight five-o'clock shadow he was sporting, though Len got the feeling it wasn't from hunger. 

He was also, oddly enough, sitting cross-legged on the ground, the line of his shoulders pressed against one of the waiting room chairs. His eyes were slightly glazed as he gazed at his hands in his lap. 

"Barry," Len said. No response; Len's eye twitched in irritation, and he took a step forward as he called out firmly, "Hey, Flash." 

At that, the younger man blinked slowly, turning his head. His brow creased for a moment before smoothing into a more neutral expression, a small smile on his lips. 

"Oh. Hey, that's a new one." Before Len could respond, he continued, "Besides that one time with Wally." 

And suddenly Len remembered the fight, though he was only a spectator in it. 

He sighed, and his eyes closed for a brief moment in exasperation. "I'm not the Speed Force, Barry. I don't know what to tell you to get you to see that." 

Barry's jaw twitched. He blinked again. "Oh, okay. Hey, Le—Wait, when are you from, again?" 

His nose creased. (Len wouldn't admit it if you held him at gunpoint, but it was kind of cute.) 

"Sorry," Barry continued, "It's just—Well, there's a lot of time here." He paused, then clarified. "Times, I mean. Events. Past, future. Anyway. When are you from." 

"2016," Len answered. 

"So..." Barry pursed his lips, thinking. "Like...before or after King Shark?" 

"King—" A flash of memory, and Len sighed, stepping closer and sliding into a chair across from Barry. "Yeah. After. I died." 

Barry shrugged. "Technically, for me—well, for that me—you were dead before King Shark, so..." He gave another shrug along with a hum. 

"Right," Len said slowly. "Well—" 

The speedster's gaze went foggy again, as if he were seeing something Len couldn't. 

"Wanna go to Jitters? I could use some coffee and sweets." He _tsk_ ed. "I can't do this anymore, Len. Maybe Wally was right. It's too selfish." He laughed a little. "Selfish...Shellfish, crayfish, red fish, blue fish..." 

"Barry?" Len asked. He reached a hand out. 

"I wouldn't do that," a voice called from down the hall. Len wasn't surprised to turn and see Sara strutting towards them. "You'll probably make it worse." 

"Worse?" Len demanded. "You've already driven him insane!" 

"Have I?" the Speed Force mused. "Maybe it's just you." 

"Me." 

"You've already disrupted my home. Barry's home. Who's to say you aren't disrupting the natural flow of his brain synapses." 

Len glanced between the two before narrowing his eyes and grasping Barry's shoulder firmly. 

The younger man jolted, as if Len were the one with lightning in his veins and he had just shocked him violently. 

"Len," he gasped. His eyes cleared. "Oh, God." 

Len looked around; the Speed Force was gone. Barry glanced over, as well, taking in the empty halls and...sagging in relief? 

"Thanks," Barry muttered. He smiled tightly. "Guess now I know you're not the Speed Force." 

"Why's that?" Len said, humoring him. 

Barry just shrugged. 

(Len noticed, however, that he was careful not to dislodge the hand still on his shoulder. He moved closer in response, hardly thinking about it other than to acknowledge that the touch seemed to be keeping the man grounded.) 

"Whenever they touch me," Barry explained, "I get the flashes. Worse than it usually is, in here." He scratched under his jaw, looking away. "I think I've seen more futures than I'd like to." 

Len didn't have anything to say to that, so he just stayed silent as he switched his seating to be closer to Barry. Briefly, he unclasped Barry's arm, not thinking, but just the split second was enough. 

"She's gonna be a handful," Barry muttered. Then he sighed. "Michael wouldn't let anything happen to Nora, you know that. That, bat, sat, rat, not a rat—" 

Len replaced his hand, and the rambling stopped again. 

The Speed Force appeared again, this time in the form of Cisco. They sat on Barry's other side with their legs stretched in front of them. 

A disappointed huff left them when they poked Barry and he did little more than flinch. 

"How am I supposed to torture my prisoner with you here?" they complained. "Stop what you're doing!" 

"No," Len said coolly. 

"Thought you said you weren't gonna torture me?" Barry muttered, pressing his head to his hands. 

The Speed Force seemed to flail for a moment. "That's not—I'm not—" 

"Save it," Len snapped. "I'm not just gonna leave him here with you. Sorry, I've dealt with enough psychological torture from parental figures." 

They glared. "Fine. Have it your way." 

And then they were gone. 

* * *

The Speed Force didn't come back. Len almost wished they would come back, if only to dull the boredom a bit.

Almost.

It had taken what Len determined to be about three months in his own mind for him to realize that it had not, in fact, been three months in Barry's mind. That it had, in fact, been several decades in his mind. Mostly because Barry would zone out for what felt like hours before snapping back to exactly as he had been before.

Len figured he was probably being projected to different places. He wasn't sure, but the way Barry described it seemed accurate.

"I don't really remember anything," he'd said once with a shrug. "I mean, yeah, I get flashes. I  _know_ things. But I don't remember specific things I see. It's more like a feeling. Dreaming, watching—it's the same. I'm there, but I'm here. They're not separate."

Whatever that meant. Len had given up keeping up with Barry's science speak a while ago (He may be a master thief, and he may know more about engineering and tech-locks than most people, but advanced physics? No. Just. No.) —why should he waste time understanding something he wasn't even a part of?

It was maybe a couple of weeks after this realization, in Len's mind, that he came to another one:

It had not been three months in the real world. Or probably in the Speed Force.

He, himself, seemed to be losing time. It was annoyance more than anything, but there was more than one time when he felt the edges of panic encroaching on his mind.

Then Barry would say something crazy, and Len would be shocked into coughing out a laugh.

For instance:

"Honey, Mikey is chewing on the trash bin again, could you get him?" A pause. Then, cheerfully, "Nora got asked on a  _date_ today!" Another pause, and he continued, more subdued, "She  _bit_ him. The shock—"

Len snorted particularly loud at that one before reaching out to nudge the man with his foot. "Wake up, Bar—"

A flash of a memory bounced across his brain.

Two pairs of slippers in the hall; a blue jacket hanging up beside a red hoodie; a little girl with dark hair and pigtails; a baby boy with big blue eyes and dimples; green eyes and a kiss to his cheek in greeting...

His breath  _whoosh_ ed out of him, and he quickly moved to the opposite end of the hall.

He vaguely registered Barry breaking out of his own stupor and calling out his name, but he ignored it. Until he couldn't.

Len's shoes squeaked on the tile as he stopped when Barry appeared in front of him, gripping his shoulder.

"Len, what's going on?"

He shoved the younger man's hand off of him with a snarl. " _Don't_ touch me."

Barry stepped back, startled, and Len automatically reached out, trying to prevent what was going to happen, but—

"She was the love of my life!" Barry shouted. He calmed just as quickly. "As long as I'm alive," he murmured, swaying with a soft smile, "I'll always come back." His eyes welled with tears. "Lenny, I'm  _sorry_ —"

Len gripped his shoulders, shaking him with a snarl. "Barry, snap out of it!" he scolded. "You can't keep doing this. Think about Iris!"

"Iris, Iris," Barry muttered. He shook his head slowly. "Iris isn't mine anymore..."

Several things happened seemingly in the space of a few seconds.

First, a flash of light appeared at their end of the hallway, and a small red ball rolled toward them.

Second, Barry's head snapped to look directly into Len's eyes and murmured, "You were the only one who knew..."

Third, the Speed Force appeared at the other end of the hall, taking the visage of Dr. Snow as they glared with a vengeance at Len in particular. " _Don't_ —"

And lastly, Barry grasped his hand and whispered a, "Come  _on_ ," and dragged him through the door.

* * *

Len barely remembered the next two hours.

Between moving at Barry's speed for at least four hundred miles in a circle leading back to STAR Labs and being bombarded by everyone Barry had ever met, the only thing Len registered through the fog of disorientation was the fact that Barry's hand didn't quite leave his until Caitlin—the real Caitlin—dragged him away for tests, shooting Len a look over her shoulder that said,  _You're next_.

By the time his mind settled into it's natural rhythm of time, his arm was stinging, and Caitlin was shoving a sandwich and a liter of water into his hands.

"Eat."

He did. She seemed satisfied once he'd taken a bit and a drink and went about collecting her equipment.

Barry settled in beside him once she left.

Len glanced over at him. "Head still scrambled, Scarlet?"

Barry shook his head. "Not really. Can't remember a lot, though."

He hesitated, setting down his drink. "What do you remember?"

The speedster shrugged. "Mostly just—sitting around in the Speed Force. With you. And bits and pieces of other stuff." A took a deep breath and let it out in a huff. "Did...I mean, do you know how long we were in there?"

Len nodded; Caitlin had told him as much. "I've been gone for three years," he said anyway. "You've been gone have that."

Barry rolled his head across his shoulders. "Yeah."

There was a pause, and then Len asked, "Where's Iris?"

Barry didn't even flinch. "Home. Her home, I mean. With her boyfriend." He looked down at his lap. "Iris isn't mine anymore. But I already knew that."

"How?" Len asked firmly.

"I saw it." Barry blinked at him, suddenly leaning into his space. "I mean...I saw a lot of things. So I know...I know that Iris had a baby while I was gone. Almost a year old by now. Joe is gonna take me to see her tomorrow; she's still in the hospital. She'll be okay, though. She's stronger than us." He swallowed. "And—I saw a wedding. And adoption papers with Lisa's name on them next to mine and—and yours."

Barry glanced away for a moment, then looked at him with a fierce determination.

"Hey, Len," he said casually. "Wanna go to Jitters? I could use some coffee and sweets."

The ex-con blinked, stunned, then smirked.

"Only if it's  _iced_."


End file.
